From the Prince of Darkness, a tale with a sting: Mandelson stars in TV advert for his autobiography

Peter Mandelson donned the smoking jacket and cravat of the archetypal cad last night as he prepared to stick the knife into his New Labour colleagues.

In a TV advert for the serialisation of his autobiography, the spin doctor-turned-Cabinet minister suggested the history of New Labour read like a 'fairytale', complete with rival kings and an evil prince – with himself cast in the latter role.

Seated in a leather chair in an oak panelled office, Lord Mandelson said: 'Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

By the book: Peter Mandelson in his TV guise as story teller

'Once upon a time there was a kingdom and for many years it was ruled by two powerful kings.

'But they wouldn't have been in power without a third man. They
called him the Prince of Darkness,' adding with a smirk: 'Don't know
why.'

He concluded: 'This fairytale wouldn't have a happy ending. But that's for next time.'

Sources suggest the most eagerly awaited political memoirs of the will be 'very gossipy', with a string of anecdotes about the power struggles between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.

In an ominous sign that he intends to use his book to settle old scores
Lord Mandelson acknowledged that both former Labour Prime Ministers had
'used' him and let him 'swing in the wind' during the well-publicised
scandals that twice forced him from the Cabinet.

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He said: 'Do I wish they had perhaps behaved to me and treated me
differently? Yes. I would have preferred that of course, and I would
not have paid the price in my ministerial career. But politics is not
always as simple as that.'

A source who has read the memoirs said neither Mr Blair nor Mr Brown comes out of the book well 'to put it mildly'.

She said that Mr Blair emerges as 'weak' and 'unable to make a decision without checking it with Mandelson first'.

In his dealings with Mr Brown, Mr Blair comes across as a 'coddling
and ineffectual parent who constantly threatens to discipline a child
but never follows through'. The source says that in much of the book Mr
Brown comes across as 'seriously unhinged'.

Mandy's script: The memoirs are expected to be 'very gossipy'

In an interview with the Times last night he said that while he admired Mr Blair he could be 'chilly and disapproving'. He describes his relationship with Mr Brown during the period before his astonishing third return to the Cabinet as 'awful'.

Along with Mr Blair and Mr Brown Lord Mandelson was the architect of New Labour in the mid-1990s. His book is expected to lift the lid on the astonishing rows and tensions between the three men. Last night he said Mr Brown told him the trio had 'killed each other' in office.

Lord Mandelson said Mr Blair had been forced to devote too much time to dealing with the 'insurgency next door' led by Mr Brown and his lieutenants. He said many of Mr Brown's aides, who included the Labour leadership contender Ed Balls had shown 'unbridled contempt' for Mr Blair.

He added: 'You know they really thought Tony was a weak, ineffective prime minister whose policies they disagreed with and that were leading nowhere — certainly not in the direction they wanted. They wanted a different sort of new Labour government with a different set of policies.'

Lord Mandelson also defends his well-known love of the high-life and fascination with wealthy men, such as Nat Rothschild, the financier and former hedge fund chairman, and Oleg Deripaska, the Russian metals billionaire.

Responding to criticism of his enthusiasm for people not normally associated with Labour values, he said: 'Do you know what I say to that? Good for me. I mean, I’m not going to be governed by Labour Party political correctness about who I should meet or talk to or where I should spend my time.

'I am drawn towards people who are interesting, who are achievers, who are dynamic. I can also mix with and perfectly happily exist with people who are not like that. It’s not a matter of the high life or the low life. For me it’s the interesting life.'

As head of Labour's media drive in the 1990s Lord Mandelson was initially close to both Mr Brown and Mr Blair. But after backing Mr Blair to succeed John Smith as Labour leader in 1994, Mandelson had a catastrophic falling out with Mr Brown which endured for years. He said last night that Mr Brown 'couldn't get over' the fact that Mr Blair had beaten him to othe leadership.

In Government Lord Mandelson earned the highly unusual distinction of having to resign from the Cabinet twice. In 1998 he was forced to resign as trade secretary following revelations that he received a secret loan from millionaire fellow minister Geoffrey Robinson.

Following a swift recall by Mr Blair he quit as Northern Ireland Secretary just two years later following claims that he was involved in helping one of the billionaire Hinduja brothers obtain a passport.

In a final favour, Mr Blair then appointed Lord Mandelson as Britain's EU Commissioner. In a shock move Mr Brown brought Lord Mandelson back to the Cabinet for a third time two years ago, following which the two men appeared to agree an uneasy truce.

The swift publication of his memoirs following Labour's defeat is said to have infuriated Mr Blair whose own memoirs are finally due for publication in the autumn.